Witnesses: U.S. Chopper Kills Iraqi Civilians, JournalistIn news from Iraq, at least sixteen people were killed Thursday in clashes between U.S. troops and Shiite militias in Baghdad. The dead included a photographer for the Reuters news agency and his driver. They apparently came under fire from a U.S. helicopter.

Quote:

Unidentified witness: “The U.S. soldiers randomly fired on cars and children, even journalists were not safe. Over here was a Reuters crew.”

Residents say the remaining dead were civilians, including at least two children. An Agence France Press journalist who interviewed witnesses on the scene said the helicopter appeared to indiscriminately fire on any gathering of people in the area.

U.S. Fingerprinting, Scanning Thousands of IraqisPrivacy concerns are being raised over a U.S. military program that is taking fingerprints and eye scans from thousands of Iraqi men and inputting them into a Pentagon database. USA Today reports Iraqis have been stopped at checkpoints, workplaces and sites of attacks and scanned by U.S. troops. Between five to ten thousand Baghdad residents have been scanned since March. Iraqis face being barred from their neighborhoods if they refuse the biometric scans.

UN Launches Urgent Appeal for Iraqi RefugeesIn other Iraq news, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has issued an urgent appeal for more funding to aid Iraqi refugees. Nearly four million Iraqis have been internally displaced or left Iraq. The UN says that number is growing by around two thousand people fleeing their homes each day.

That July 12th Democracy Now! show was quite an eyeopener for many people, I am sure. We have known for a long time that some of our people are brutal over there (not all, but some), but this telling of how people were indiscriminately shot or beaten or raided was chilling even to listen to. Put yourself in the place of those Iraqis and see if you still wonder why they hate us...

They hate us for our freedom, yeah, right. Could they hate us for our brutality?

If I remember my reading correctly, people who fight pit bulls look for certain aggressive traits in the dogs. Some of the pups do not have this trait that these people are looking for and they end up being the "bait" to train the more aggressive dog which is tormented to the point of madness.

When we released the Dog's of War, there were some "pups" who already had an aggressive trait in them. Through the stress of war, not to mention repeated deployment, these "pups" with aggressive traits have been driven to the point of madness.

Will these "pups" be able to be deprogramed when they return home? How many are there that have been effected as such and how many degrees of effect are there? Will some come home and "just" be aggressive, fighting and such?

Will some come home and "just" beat their wives and children?

Will some come home and "just" be so broken by the causes of war that they become killers?

We all want these soldiers to come home but man oh man this oh so great government of our's had better come up with a good way to help the mental damage that has been done to these people.

I will never lay the blame for anything that happens at the soldiers feet. I was one and I understand. At the state of mind I was in at the time, and the age I was at the time I do not know how it would have affected me.

Hell, for all I know I could have made these kids look like saints in comparison.

Never forget the names of ALL those who voted for this war of lies. These are who I will blame.

CrimsonEagle

_________________CrimsonEagleThe war to end all wars can only be fought on the front-lines of the mind.

The greatest deception they have perpetrated is that we need them. Our greatest mistake is that we believe them.

CE, I have been very worried about the people coming home too. How does one 'get over' the shredding one's personality and soul get when they are subjected to brutality--no matter where or who it is coming from? Even when it is coming from within oneself...